Staff
 Mr. Nicholas PlatoNick Plato has been with Chesterton Academy of the Valley since its conception in a coffee shop with friend and fellow Board Member, Mr. Rolando Moreno. Since his youth, he's dreamed of starting a school that would be part of the true renewal of culture. Nick has been teaching since 2002 at both public and private schools as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Nick is blessed with five children and his beautiful wife, Katie in Woodburn, Oregon. He loves gardening, hobby beekeeping, reading, and playing board-games. He earned his M.S. in Education from WOU and holds an Oregon teaching license. He teaches Theology, Philosophy, Literature, and History.
plato.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Katie Platooffice.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Angela MorenoA native of Mt. Angel, Angela graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Minor in both Business and Spanish from Franciscan University in 2003. She worked for 2 years for the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Washington DC, married her husband Rolando and moved back to Oregon in 2005, embracing life as a mother and homemaker. They now live with their 5 children in Keizer, OR. Angela has been involved with Chesterton Academy from the beginning and her oldest son was in the second graduating class in 2023. She officially came on staff in 2021 and works part-time in Admissions and Student Life. She also homeschools her younger children and enjoys cooking, baking, and all things outdoors.
admissions.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Mary Jo Hettwer
Mary Jo is not only our school secretary, greeting students as they come in the double doors each morning, she also volunteered her time as the secretary to the Board of Directors for the last several years, stepping down in July 2022, reflecting her many years of generosity in the community. She was born and raised in Salem, Oregon, and graduated from Marylhurst College in 1962. She got married, raised her 6 children on a farm outside Silverton, and now has 11 grandchildren. In 2002, Mary Jo lost her husband, Leonard, and then began volunteering at Marian Latin School, later at Holy Family Academy, and we are lucky to have her support now at Chesterton Academy.
She plays the organ and/or the piano for Sunday Mass at Holy Rosary Church, a mission of St. Mary’s Mt. Angel and at St. Paul’s in Silverton. She is a member of Widows of Prayer, a group that prays especially for Priests. For fun, Mary Jo enjoys spending time with her family, playing cards with them, helping with the upkeep of the farm (under the watchful eye of her oldest son), and doing counted cross stitchery and knitting. plato.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Fr. John Paul Le, OSB
Fr. John Paul Le, O.S.B., was born in Garden City, KS and he is the son of Vietnamese immigrants, who came to the United States a few years after the Vietnam war. After two years in Kansas, Fr. John Paul's family moved to the Texas Gulf Coast where his parents shrimped. Just prior to entering the monastery, Fr. John Paul spent two years with the Salesians in East Timor and Texas. In 2008, he entered the monastery of Mount Angel Abbey and was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood in 2015. Some of his current assignments include: Subprior, Abbot's Secretary, Oblate Director and Locksmith.
We are incredibly blessed to have Fr. John Paul serving as chaplain to our school. |
Faculty
 Mrs. Jessica Rolfe
rolfe.chesterton@gmail.com
|
 Mr. Matthew Edmonds
Mr. Edmonds has been working at Chesterton Academy since the fall of 2019. He was raised on a small farm near Silverton, Oregon, and he and his wife, Kaitlynn, don't plan on leaving the area anytime soon. If you talk with Mr. Edmonds what becomes clear in a hurry is his passion for Truth. Mr. Edmonds is a life-long Catholic and is passionate about teaching at this Academy because he is able to share his love for Christ and His Church in each subject every day. Mr. Edmonds earned his teaching degree from Western Oregon University. He holds an Oregon teaching license and teaches Philosophy, Debate, History, Music, Chemistry & Physics.
mattedmonds.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mr. Stephen Barker
Stephen Barker grew up in North Carolina and attended college in Southern California. After graduating from Thomas Aquinas College in 2004, he moved to the Pacific Northwest where he worked in the wine industry for over a decade. A visit to Rome in 2009 ended with a stop at the Basilica of Saint Cecilia where Stephen discerned a call to serve the Church through music. He has sung in various choirs and played the violin for countless liturgies since. He enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Samantha, hiking, playing guitar and violin, singing, and baking bread for friends. Mr. Barker is very excited to join Chesterton Academy of the Willamette Valley. He teaches Philosophy, History, Literature, Latin, and Music.
barker.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Chelsea Sigur
Mrs. Sigur graduated from the University of Dallas in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Minor in Education. She began her teaching career at St. Paul’s Catholic School in Richardson, TX. After a year of teaching at the middle school level, Chelsea and her husband, Charlie, moved to Silverton, OR. Mrs. Sigur had missed the classical education setting and her home state. They welcomed their first child, Marianne, in 2020 and Mrs. Sigur joined Chesterton’s staff in the Fall of 2020. She teaches Philosophy, Theology, Biology, and Geometry & Trigonometry.
sigur.chesterton@gmail.com |
Mr. Brian Lange
Mr. Lange began coaching upon graduation from high school and 20 years later is still passionate about the formation of the human person. “Man, though body and soul, is a unity” (CCC, 2289). He loves teaching the biomechanics of human movement and the skills necessary for lifelong health. Mr. Lange is a strong advocate for the Catholic Church's teaching on Faith and Science and is excited to bring his love of Astronomy and Physical Science to Chesterton Academy. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he manages the Chesterton Academy Ultimate Frisbee and Round-net Clubs. He resides in Salem with his four children. Mr. Lange enjoys studying the lives of the Saints, exploring the great Oregon outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
lange.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Sara Rico
Sara grew up on a farm outside of a small town in Southeast Kansas. Sara has studied at Kansas State University, at the University of Salamanca in Spain, and at the University of Dallas Braniff Graduate School where she specialized in Moral Theology and Marriage Theology. She has taught for thirteen years in a variety of schools: public, private, Catholic, ecumenical, home-school, and tutoring. Sara currently teaches Mathematics and Moral Theology at the Chesterton Academy of the Willamette Valley in Mount Angel, Oregon. She has a passion for classical, liberal arts education and is happy to be tackling the challenge of home-schooling her own children.
More than anything, Sara enjoys being present to her husband and children. Together, the Ricos manage to turn pretty much everything into a great adventure. The Rico family enjoys celebrating the liturgical year, spending time outdoors, reading great books, having good conversations, eating good food, and working towards bridging the false divide between Faith and Reason in modern culture. The Ricos also enjoy hanging out with monks - especially the Benedictines in Mt.Angel and the Cistercians near the University of Dallas in Texas. Though being a wife, mother, and part-time high school teacher is a more-than-full-time job (and full-time ministry!), Sara loves taking the time to be a guest speaker for RCIA classes, other Catholic and ecumenical organizations, and for the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team (TOBET). rico.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Gabrielle Merritt
Gabrielle Merritt lives in Mount Angel with her husband Terence and their four small daughters Avila, Rose, Zelie and Claire. She received her Bachelor of Arts from University of Dallas, and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Western Oregon University. She previously taught Spanish at Chesterton Academy, but will be teaching and directing the Spring Drama for the 2022-23 school year! She spends the rest of her days homeschooling her fun-loving girls. Some of her favorite pastimes include working in her garden, attending vespers at the Benedictine Abbey, and reading poetry.
merritt.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mr. Douglas Schneiderschneiderdouglas@mac.com |
 Dr. Kimberley Jahn
Dr. Jahn grew up in northern California, and received her BA in Communications from the University of Southern California in 1990. After working in the advertising industry in San Francisco for a couple of years, she decided to take a completely different path to pursue a career in Veterinary Medicine. While completing the work experience and prerequisite coursework required to apply to Veterinary Medical School, she developed an interest in medical research. Dr. Jahn was persuaded by a full scholarship to move from California to Minnesota to complete her studies, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) as well as a PhD in Molecular Veterinary Biology. From there she worked in both the small animal medicine and medical research fields. With all of these achievements, the thing she is most proud of is her marriage to Steven Jahn (whom she would not have met if she had not moved to Minnesota) and their three children. Dr. Jahn homeschooled her kids through 8th grade, and now she is here at Chesterton Academy teaching science and math. Her three children are students at Chesterton Academy as well.
jahn.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Ms. Melissa Piñapina.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mr. Zachary Norstedt
Mr. Norstedt grew up in North Dakota and attended college in South Dakota. He obtained his bachelors in electrical engineering in 2015. Prompted by a friend, Mr. Norstedt read the works of G.K. Chesterton the last semester of college and experienced a powerful conversion from atheism to Catholicism. He worked in engineering for three years before discerning a call to religious life that led him to Mount Angel Abbey. Four years after entering the monastery, Mr. Norstedt and his superiors discerned together that the Lord was calling him elsewhere. He left the Abbey in 2023. He enjoys watching movies and shows, playing video games, reading, and writing in his spare time. Outside of his work at Chesterton, he works full-time as a project engineering assistant at Woodburn Construction, and is a catechist in St. Mary's OCIA program. He teaches Precalculus and Calculus.
norstedt.chesterton@gmail.com |
 Mrs. Mary Bellequekbelleque@comcast.net |
 Mr. Henry Sanderssanders.chesterton@gmail.com |
Our team of faculty and staff are always available to our student and their families, as well as to answer any questions that you may have. Please feel free to contact us directly if you need anything!